Tanzania mudslides kill 13 after heavy rain

DAR ES SALAAM

DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) - Mudslides after torrential rains have killed 13 people at a quarry in the northern Tanzanian town of Arusha, a senior government official said on Tuesday.

Tanzania's buoyant economy has fuelled a building boom, especially in the center of the tourist town but high demand for construction materials has led to a proliferation of new quarries, raising concern for safety standards.

"A heavy downpour on Sunday caused mudslides and flooding in some parts of Arusha. This resulted in the deaths of 13 people at a quarry," Arusha Regional Commissioner Magesa Mulongo told Reuters by telephone.

Television footage showed rescue workers in army uniform using stretchers to carry the bodies of victims out of the quarry. Several trucks were buried under the muddy morass in the Moshono area on the outskirts of Arusha.

Mulongo said two people were rescued from the mudslides before the search and rescue operation ended late on Monday. The quarry was temporarily closed to allow police investigations.

In an indication of shaky safety standards in the building industry, at least 36 people were killed in the collapse of a multi-storey building under construction in Tanzania's biggest city Dar es Salaam on Friday.

(Reporting by Fumbuka Ng'wanakilala; Editing by James Macharia and Mark Heinrich)